Bay County

Bay County is located in southern Florida. The County Seat is Panama City and the largest city is Panama City. The Official Web Site is located at http://www.co.bay.fl.us/. The 2014 population estimate is 178,985 and the 2010 census population was 168,852. The land area is 758.46 square miles and there are 222.6 persons per square mile.

82.6% of the population is White, 11.2% is Black or African American, 5.4% is Hispanic or Latino, 2.3% is Asian, 0.8% is American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.1% is Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and 3% is two or more races. 87% have a high school degree or higher, and 21.1% have a Bachelor degree or higher.

The median home value is $157,600, there are 67,561 households, an average of 2.48 persons per household. The per capita income is $24,498, the median household income is $47,461, and 14.7% of the persons in Bay County are considered below poverty level.

The total number of firms, at last estimate, was 15,465. Retail sales (in $1000) were $2,471,968, and sales per capita were $15,138. The percentage of black-owned firms is 0%, and the percentage of women-owned firms is 29%.